Page 82 of Tell Me (Savannah 3)

“You’re okay with me backing out of the wedding but not the investigation?” His tone was light, but his jaw was steel. Her answer was important.

“I’m not okay with you backing out of either one,” Nikki said tautly as he tossed his wallet and keys onto the side table.

“We’re getting married, Nik. That’s a fact. But I almost lost you once to the Grave Robber, and that can’t happen again, no

t on my watch.” Looking at her, his expression softened. “Look, honey,” he said, closing the gap between them and grabbing her shoulders. “I’m mad at myself for agreeing to our partnership in the investigation. It’s not professional, and it’s not smart, and I let my need to please you cloud my judgment.”

Her heart cracked a little. “Okay, I get it. But let’s not let one snake throw this whole thing out the window.”

“It’s not the snake that worries me—or the two snakes, if there really was another one in the cabin. It’s the guy who put the damned thing into your car that’s the problem. You know, there’s a chance he’s the same nutcase who took one to the cabin years before, and look what happened then.”

“What you’re saying suggests that Blondell might not have been lying,” she pointed out.

“Suggests, yeah. Not proves.”

“But who?” she asked.

“Someone nearby who can handle reptiles. That’s got to narrow the field.”

“You’d think.” She slid out of his coat and handed it to him. “Thanks. For the coat and everything.” She placed a kiss on his cheek and added, “I’m in dire need of a hot shower.”

“Is that an offer?”

Leaning over, she unzipped her boots and kicked them off. “Take it any way you want it.”

“As long as you understand that our deal is off.”

She started working on the zipper of the lightweight jacket she’d been wearing under Reed’s larger coat. “I’m not talking about this now. I figure we can do it later.” She let her sweater fall open.

“You think if you get me interested in you that I’ll forget that I’m changing the rules. Or that you can convince me to agree to let you work on the case.”

“I’m just going to take a shower, Reed,” she said. “You can join me if you want. If you don’t, fine.”

“I think I’d better deal with the dog.”

“Your choice.” She was already peeling off her clothes.

Once inside the bathroom, she turned on the taps of the shower, which was rigged over an old, claw-foot tub. The pipes groaned as the water turned hot, steaming the room as she dropped her clothes into a pile on the floor. She’d barely stepped inside the curtained enclosure when the door opened and Reed, stark naked, appeared.

“What about the dog?”

“He’s quick.”

“I guess. So did you have a change of heart?” she asked lightly, reaching for the soap.

“More like I saw an opportunity to spend some quality time with my fiancée.”

“Quality time,” she mocked. “Is that what this is?”

“What it isn’t, is you seducing me to get what you want.”

She watched as he deftly plucked the soap from her hand and stood between her and the spray, turning her to face the wall as he ran the slippery bar over her wet skin, causing the goose bumps rising on her flesh to disappear in the heat. Warm water sprayed over them, and she nestled against him, feeling the flat of his hand against her abdomen, drawing her near while her buttocks were pressed into his groin, his thick shaft already at attention and rubbing against her.

She closed her eyes and let the eroticism of the moment overtake her. Hot water, warm flesh, sudsy lather running down her legs and body. He kissed the back of her neck, where it joined with her shoulders, his lips tender, his tongue slick. His hands moved, one caressing a breast and toying with a wet nipple, the other, reaching lower, down her abdomen, to the juncture of her legs, where his fingers probed and her need began to pulse. She moaned over the rush of water, and she felt him lift her up as he thrust hard against her, driving deep, causing her to gasp.

Blood pounded in her ears, and her heart couldn’t keep up with her shallow, rapid breathing. Water splashed, she gulped in air and he moved inside her. Harder. Faster. Hotter.

“Oh, God,” she whispered as he held her fast to him. “Oh, God, Oh, God . . . oh . . .”

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